Marketing

Recently, at bmt Promotions, we reached a fork in the road. We’ve needed to make decisions regarding management and money, both subjects creating a whole host of questions. What choices should be made for “the best”, both professionally and personally?

Substantial changes within small business can happen very quickly. A lot of these changes can benefit your company but, making small adjustments within your business can be just as effective.

Here at bmt Promotions, we’ve had some exciting opportunities come our way but, they haven’t been right for our current situation so we’ve made some highly positive in house changes!

What does this mean for bmt Promotions:
– Staying in control. We are staying an inhouse, family run, business. We pride ourselves on this and the great service we provide our customers and will always strive to do so.

Will our business changes affect our customers?
– No and Yes! bmt Promotions specialise in providing company branded items, this isn’t changing but we now have more staff joining us so, more productivity leading to even better service for you.

We have a huge range of promotional products on offer on our website www.bmtpromotions.co.uk and many more besides. If you want it, we can brand it! Any object can be a promotional product for your business!

Here at bmt Promotions we source our products from all over the globe and this means we can offer niche products that you may never even have thought of.

We are sure that there will be many more forks in the road for bmt Promotions in the future, as all businesses experience at some point, but for now, we are on a straight road. We are ready to tackle any challenges ahead and provide the best service for our customers needing branded merchandise!

For a quote on your promotional products needs visit www.bmtpromotions.co.uk.

It’s halfway through 2017 and we’ve already seen a number of trends pop up over the course of the year. Internet memes, weird fashion trends like plastic jeans and now we’ve been reintroduced to a 90’s toy that’s made a comeback…Fidget Spinners.

What is a Fidget Spinner? It’s a type of toy, who marketers claim relieves stress. It’s a toy that consists of a bearing in the centre of a design made from a variety of different materials including brass, stainless steel, titanium, copper and plastic. The Fidget Spinner was originally designed for people who have trouble with focussing or fidgeting (such as those with ADHD, autism or anxiety) by acting as a release mechanism for nervous energy or psychological stress.

Fidget Spinners were originally invented in the 1990’s, but suddenly saw a huge rise in popularity in 2017 after James Plafke of Forbes published an article on December 23rd 2016 describing fidget spinners as the “must-have office toy for 2017”.

Following on from this, in March 2017, users on social media websites such as YouTube and Reddit began uploading videos reviewing and performing tricks with fidget spinners. Now it’s hard to remember the last time we scrolled through our Facebook timeline without seeing a video on fidget spinners, or even dogs with fidget spinners on their heads!

Putting aside the entertaining value of dog’s having fidget spinners spun on their heads, there are a ton of health benefits that fidget spinners offer. The main purpose of a fidget spinner is to relieve stress, especially for those with mental health issues, ADHD, autism, or for those who need constant stimulation.

From the rise in popularity and the reports of the fidget spinners mental health benefits, the fidget spinner is back whether you love them or loathe them.

At BMT, we couldn’t resist jumping on this trend and we now offer fidget spinners for those looking for customised fidget spinners. You can choose a custom design to place on your fidget spinner for pleasure, to relieve stress or to spin on top of your dog’s head!

As the must-have office toy for 2017, it’s the perfect way to get your brand across through a fun, interactive toy and your clients will thank you for giving them something to entertain themselves during the day.

If you would like to enquire about Fidget Spinners and would like yours branded with us, you can get a free quote on our website, or alternatively you can call 01903 409489.

Don’t you just HATE it when your phone hits that 1% battery and you don’t have a charger on you? We’ve become so reliant on our phones to stay connected that it’s never good when we have no access to a plug or a charger and we find ourselves stuck. Luckily, Branded Power Banks are here to save everyone’s dying batteries.

We’ve come up with a few scenarios of when you’re most likely to need a power bank in your life. After reading this article, we reckon you’ll be looking to purchase yourself one just in case!

On public transport

Luckily, some public transport like trains and airplanes have plug sockets to plug in your charger if you need to top up on the go. But these can be scarce and perhaps you’re sitting in an area where there is no access to a plug socket. If you’re someone who loves listening to music on a long journey, or scrolling through social media to keep entertained, running out of battery can be painful! A Branded Powerbank will keep you topped up so you can carry on listening to your Spotify playlist and scroll through social media to your hearts content!

In the office

In most office spaces, you will most likely have access to electricity, plug sockets, laptops etc so it can be pretty easy to charge up when you need to. But has there ever been a time when you’ve arrived to the office, then halfway through the day you’ve realised you’re running low on charge and you’ve forgotten your charger? And what’s worse, no one else in the office has a charger on them either for you to borrow meaning you’re stuck! Not a problem… grab your Powerbank and charge away!

Short weekends away

There’s nothing worse than going away on a long weekend somewhere and realising you’ve forgotten your charger. Our branded Powerbanks have enough charge inside of them to last for a short weekend away. Or perhaps you’ve gone abroad and you’ve forgotten your adapters for the right country? There’s no need to stress in trying to find a place that sells adapters in a foreign country if you have your Powerbank ready to go!

Festivals and camping

With Festival season coming up, it’s difficult to access a charging spot for your phone and the majority of the time, festivals charge for you to use them. Or if you’re going on a traditional camping trip, it’s likely you won’t have access to any electricity!

As you can see, Powerbanks can come in handy for any scenario. That’s why getting your Powerbanks branded can add extra value to them; your clients will thank you for giving them such a useful and reliable free gift, plus it gets your brand recognised.

We have over 50 different styles in our product range, and they come with different levels of mAh, which is power. They range from 1,800mAh – 50,000mAh. Typically, a 5,000mAh power bank charger will charge an iPhone 6 twice, before it needs recharging. All our products are supplied with a micro USB cable for attaching the user’s device to the power bank. Minimum order quantities start at 50 units, and prices start at around £4.95 + VAT (includes all printing & delivery costs).

If you would like to order your Branded Powerbanks with us, you can call us on 01933 409 489 or you can visit our page on Branded Powerbanks on even more reasons why they make for great promotional products.

We’re celebrating here at BMT! Because on 30th March, it’s National Pencil Day!

Every year on March 30th, National Pencil Day is celebrated because it’s when Hymen Lipman received a patent for a pencil with an attached eraser on this day in 1858. Therefore, the pencil is almost 160 years old!

And even after almost 160 years on, the pencil is still a tool that we use today.

As you can see, we’re big fans of pencils and love creating the most powerful of branding on the most simple, yet useful of products. Pencils are always needed at hand when you’re in the office, which is why they are great for increasing your brand awareness as they won’t be shoved in a drawer! Therefore, they make a for a fantastic free gift to give to clients to boost your brand recognition.

Because it’s National Pencil Day; we’ve come up with prime examples of when a pencil can be most useful:

Writing notes – The most obvious use for a pencil is for writing. Pencils are useful for when you need to make a quick note on a sticky note, in a notepad or perhaps you use a pencil for your everyday to-do list to check things off? There’s always a pencil lying around when you need it most; so if you add a brand message or logo on one, you’re instantly getting the attention you want.

Drawing and sketching – A pencil is the first choice of stationary to use when it comes to drawing and sketching. Unlike pens, depending on how soft or hard you press on paper, you can determine the intensity of what something will look like drawn or sketched on. Whether you’re just doing the odd doodles on a notepad to pass the time at work or if you’re a budding artist, a pencil is your best friend for this type of activity.

Placed on your ear – A pencil that’s placed on top of the ear can be a handy place to keep it when you need it most. Have you ever seen someone in your office who always has a pen on their ear? Or perhaps you’re one of those people who always has a pencil on them? So when you need somewhere to keep a pencil, stick it on top of your ear!

Erasing mistakes – The beauty of most pencils, compared to pens, is that most of them will have an eraser attached at the end of them. This means anything that you’ve written down accidently, or made an error with whilst drawing; you can erase those mistakes straight away.

Being Eco-Friendly or Environmentally Friendly is becoming more and more important. In today’s society, everyone tries to do their bit for the environment whether it’s ensuring you separate your recycling to your rubbish, conserving electrical and water usage or limiting the use of harmful materials. Did you know that eco-friendly products could do wonders for your company and could convey a great message towards your clients? We discuss why:

Promotional products are a great way in marketing your company name. Here at BMT, we are proud to provide eco-friendly promotional products as we know how important it is to do our bit for the environment. Not many customers know that we provide these types of products, therefore if you’re an environmentally conscious company, we want to tell you why you should look into eco-friendly options to promote your business.

So what can being environmentally friendly do to promote your business more? By buying eco-friendly promotional products and practising eco-friendly methods, you can stand out from your competitors. Now there’s an increasing growth in raising awareness regarding saving our environment, more and more businesses want to be associated with eco-friendly companies. Therefore, through eco-friendly promotion, you will attract new customers and it will increase your brand image.

And how do you choose an eco-friendly product wisely? The key to choosing the right product is ensuring it’s not going to be something that get’s shoved in a cupboard. If you have a bunch of pens lying around and you have nowhere to put them, why not be wise about your promotional products and invest in a wheelie bin pen pot that is manufactured from recycled plastic? Or maybe you need a place for your promotional mug, therefore a recycled tyre coaster could be for you.

We’ve all been there, you go to make a call, check your email or browse the internet only to find that your mobile’s battery has run out! Portable power bank chargers have become an increasingly popular gadget for smartphone & portable device users. Companies worldwide are tapping into this lucrative market by branding power bank chargers for promotional giveaways.

Smartphone unit sales are expected to exceed 2.35 billion by 2019 (ABI Research). The need for accessories, and in particular portable power chargers, will grow significantly. A recent YouGov survey of 2,000 people found that 60 per cent of people claim they have a smartphone battery that doesn’t last a day.

We have over 50 different styles in our product range, and they come with different levels of mAh, which is power. They range from 1,800mAh – 50,000mAh. Typically, a 5,000mAh power bank charger will charge an iPhone 6 twice, before it needs recharging. All our products are supplied with a micro USB cable for attaching the user’s device to the power bank. Minimum order quantities start at 50 units, and prices start at around £4.95 + VAT (includes all printing & delivery costs).

We have produced branded power banks for local companies such as Car Shop, Aspers and Logistex, along with customers further afield such as Battersea Power Station, Sheffield & Bolton University, and The English Touring Theatre. Giving a branded power bank to your customer is a great way of ensuring they never lose touch with what matters.

If you would like to discuss with our team please call 01933 409489 or email hello@bmtpromotions.co.uk

BMT Promotions has been supplying businesses across the UK with promotional merchandise for the last 8 years and put supply chain management at the centre of their business operation.

Many businesses may invest in branded merchandise at the start of their venture, then as the workload increases it drops down the priority list. In reality this shouldn’t be the case. As your business grows you should promote your brand more.

With advances in printing technologies the variety of available merchandise is not only vast, but also more affordable. The BMT team make it their job to find the right product for their clients’ requirement or marketing activity. They achieve this by understanding the objective of the exercise.

Approximately 6 years ago BMT was let down by a UK supplier. This indirectly lead to them speaking to a manufacturer in China, which looking back was a significant turning point for the business.

Dealing with this particular manufacturer opened the door to a twenty strong network of others including an introduction to a specialist manufacturer. BMT now has full control over its supply chain, providing confidence in delivering a great customer experience.

EXAMPLE:

“A recent job was for 500 branded lanyards with card holders costing 75p + VAT (including delivery). They arrived 10 days after the order was placed. Other companies in the UK may turn around the same order quicker, but when the prices were compared they were 42% more expensive on average”

BMT’s buying power and supplier choice can provide some very attractive price points, meaning you don’t have to find lots of extra budget to do some form of promotion. These activities are really well received by clients and your internal team, sometimes putting a little life back into marketing activities.

If you want to explore what could work for your business or have any questions about products available, call the team 01933 409489 or email hello@bmtpromotions.co.uk

You’ve all heard the phrase ‘content is king’…well we hadn’t but apparently it’s a thing. So in keeping with that motto, we’ve decided to invest even more time in our social media efforts.

In addition to our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, we have created a vine account and we’ll be updating our Instagram on a regular basis. In doing this we’re hoping that we can give our customers a closer look at what we do and how we create some of our most popular products.

We’ve had a bit of a brainstorm, and we were thinking, ‘how can we make our social media different from the rest?’ Well we’ve got a few ideas that we’ll be rolling out over the next few months, but our first, is our monthly comic strip. Our first effort is now on our Facebook and Twitter, go on check it out…we’re not going anywhere…in fact here’s a link: http://on.fb.me/1iVHeIc. We’ll be rolling a new one out every month with clever puns that focus on our products, and your feedback would be very much appreciated.

We’re full of good ideas here at bmt but if you have any ideas of your own, then feel free to give us a shout. If you have an idea for a new comic strip or even a new product, then give us a shout on our social media pages and we’ll happily give it a review.

In the meantime, keep an eye on our social media channels and we’ll keep you updated on the goings on in the world of bmt promotions.

When selecting the right promotional product for your next campaign or event, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Try to think of items that you would genuinely like to receive. If you would like it, then it is fair to say someone else would too. Consider your target market and/or the campaign you are conducting, but make it something you’d be happy to be given. Choose a promotional product that matches the brand, the campaign and something you’d love to receive and you’re onto a winner.

Consider these 6 top tips when choosing the right promotional product for your next campaing or event;

Mind shift. Firstly, it requires a mind shift from thinking of a promotional product as a “complement” to your current campaign to an integral, strategic component of your integrated marketing communications program.

Afterthought. Don’t treat the product as an afterthought in the campaign – incorporate into the budget-planning process. Determine the percentage of your budget that you are willing to spend on your product and how your product will be distributed. Remember, promotional products have long-lasting reach and recall so the cost per impression is often lower than traditional advertising.

Represent. Make sure the products you choose represent the qualities of your organisation. If you are promoting a high-tech product, for example, you want to use a product that is innovative and modern. Also, incorporating promotional products often opens the doors to cross-marketing opportunities. Many name brand retailers today are entering the promotional products market.

Key message. Make sure the products you choose represent the qualities of your organisation. If you are promoting a high-tech product, for example, you want to use a product that is innovative and modern. Also, incorporating promotional products often opens the doors to cross-marketing opportunities.

Expect. Determine what type of reaction or call-to-action you want from the recipient. Do you want them to use the product on a daily basis? Do you expect the recipient to pass along the product to another user? Perhaps you want the recipient to request the product. If so, that message can be incorporated into the print advertising or other medium.

Timing. Remember, timing is everything. Will you send or give away your products at the beginning, middle or end of the campaign? Will the product be delivered concurrently with a running ad campaign? This is often determined by budget, as well as the number of products you wish to send.

People love to receive gifts, especially when they aren’t expecting it! Target your audience with the right promotional product & you could see significant return on investment.

Promotional Products are most commonly used in one of two ways:

As a ‘random act of kindness’
This sent or given to the customer unexpectedly, this has the potential to make the customer feel valued and therefore, engenders loyalty (more chance of repeat purchases and increases the chance of word of mouth recommendation).

As an ‘ethical hook’
Once they have expressed an interest in the service you are offering, in exchange for their contact details, give them something with useful content which can help the recipient straight away. The promotional item has to be correctly targeted, otherwise you risk brand damage by providing something potentially useless.

Majority of business owners & marketeers will have made a plan as to how they will raise the profile of their business. It is highly likely, that when making this plan they will have been surrounded by a range of branded items, most probably with other companies identity. A branded coffee mug on the desk, with the local electricians company details. A branded pen with car leasing firm etc.

You may have thought of buying promotional items branded with your company’s logo, we are approached by many people who get to this point & are unsure of what items to go for, as the ‘standard’ items such as pens, mousemats, keyrings are not suitable for what you are trying to achieve.

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Try to think of items that you would genuinely like to receive. If you would like it, then it is fair to say someone else would too. Consider your target market and/or the campaign you are conducting, but make it something you’d be happy to be given. Choose a promotional product that matches the brand, the campaign and something you’d love to receive and you’re onto a winner.

For example, if your product/service was aimed at pet dogs, a promotional frisbee, toy, or even food bowl would be a great way of placing your brand in front of potential & existing customers.

“Why spend my budget on Promotional Products, when it can be better spent on other forms of advertising?”

One of the most significant findings of a recent BPMA (British Promotional Merchandise Association) survey is that promotional merchandise can deliver a higher return on investment (ROI) than radio and outdoor advertising and an ROI that is equal to TV and print advertising.

The BPMA survey found that 79% of respondents said they were likely to do business with the company in the future, with 8 out of 10 (84 per cent) respondents stating that a branded promotional gift increased brand awareness.

We supply a wide range of promotional items, not just your standard items such as pens & mousemats. We have provided branded rubber ducks (targeted campaign relating to …’get your ducks lined up…’), USB flashdrives in the shapes of poker chips (& many other shapes) bespoke branded clothing, custom made pin badges & many other items which help make our customers brand stand out.

We would love to help you with ideas for your next campaign or event, call us for a chat on 01933 409489 or email us hello@bmtpromotions.co.uk

Here at bmt Promotions, we have been supplying branded car tax disc holders for many years and they have been a great way of advertising your brand or product all year round. Now that the car tax disc holder is becoming redundant, there are many more ways in which you can promote your brand to potential or exisitng customers. For example, branded air fresheners, promotional car stickers, branded key rings, promotional car shades and promotional ice scrapers. All of these promotional items have a durable shelf life and ensure your brand is kept infront of customers for a long time, whilst also ensuring they have a product which is of use.

Our corporate clothing and branded work wear is always a big hit with our clients. Highly visible, professional and reassuring to the customer we have produced a diverse range of items in a range of finishes and materials.
This recent project for AJS Roofing is from our branded work wear range and covered hoodies, T-shirts, sweatshirts, Hi-Vis Jackets and hats, all branded with the company logo they create a great first impression and are obviously practical.
You can choose to have an embroided finish or screen printed logo, or both! Either way the quality of the garments and the graphics is of the highest standard.